More Current Affairs:

Program Archive:

Wednesday 30 January 2002

AM is Australia's most informative morning current affairs. It covers the stories each morning that the other current affairs teams follow for the rest of the day. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

Howard talks to Karzai

Prime Minister, John Howard, has had a low key start to his trip to New York, with a breakfast meeting, his customary morning walk and a quick media briefing his only engagements today. But Australia's refugee policy still hangs heavy over the visit and there is new pressure on Australia to make special provision for asylum seekers from Afghanistan, at the request of that country's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, who's also in New York.

Afghan refugees in Kabul

As tensions remain high at Woomera, Afghans closer to their homeland are preparing to return there within the next few months. The United Nations and aid agencies are working frantically on what will be a massive programme and they're calling on western governments not to add to the burden by forcing asylum seekers to return in a hurry.

Advisory group back at Woomera

Members of the Federal Government's Immigration Detention Advisory Group are in Woomera today in a new effort to end the crisis at the Detention Centre there. In contrast to last week's accusation from the Group's Chairman, John Hodges, that the asylum seekers are engaged in blackmail, the Acting Chair Ray Funnell, says he's saddened by the ongoing hunger strike and remains hopeful of finding a way to end it.

Doubts cast over sale of Ansett

There's doubt this morning over the $3.5 billion sale of Ansett to Melbourne millionaires Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew, despite the backing of creditors at a meeting last night that was suppose to seal the deal. In particular, the transfer of leases for IT programmes and terminals at Sydney Airport is holding up the process at a cost of $6 million a week.

Tougher sentencing laws

The cries for tougher sentencing grow ever louder in the state with an election due next year but last night at the annual Law Society Dinner, the Chief Justice Jim Spigelman, said that despite public perceptions that judges are handing down more lenient sentences, there's evidence to the contrary.

Police for hire

The NSW Police Minister is proposing a controversial police for hire scheme. With the backing of the Police Union, businesses will be able to pay for police, complete with their official uniform and weapons, to protect their property.

Trade in tarantulas

The growing trade in Australian spiders has pets as researchers worried. Sold as bird eating spiders, Queensland's tarantulas in particular are fetching hundreds of dollars in pet shops around the country. But many of these Australian native spiders are not only dangerous, they're rare and most are yet to be properly identified by scientists.

Politician gives back to the community?

A vocal critic of what he calls MPs' privileges, Independent Peter Andren, is putting his money where his mouth is. After receiving a $73,000 cheque from the Electoral Commission the member of Calare will sink some of that cash into community projects.

Japan coal mine to close

Japan's unemployment rate has hit a new record high and today, the country will get a graphic illustration of one reason why. The industry which provided the fuel for Japan's economic and military might will close down when the nation's remaining coal mine shuts its doors.